Services

Housing societies clueless over waste converters

TNN | Updated: May 22, 2017, 0:43 IST

Representative image

SURAT: The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) proposes to issue legal notices to the managements of 62 housing societies that are yet to install organic waste converters on their premises despite having been told to do so. At least 83 housing societies were asked, but so far only 21 have complied with the order and installed the waste converters. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the amended Solid Waste Management Rules made it mandatory for all the housing societies bigger than 20,000 square metre in area to install organic waste converters on their premises for recycling organic waste at source. “When an environment certificate (EC) is granted to housing societies, it is made clear to them that they need to install organic waste converters on their premises. However, these societies have not complied with the order after obtaining EC from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board. Flat owners say it is the builders’ responsibility to buy and install organic waste converters and are not ready to pay,” SMC chief health officer Dr Aashish Naik said. SMC ensures that any new project will only get EC and building use certificate (BUC) if it installs organic waste converters on the premises.

“It is not difficult for a 20,000 square metre housing society to install a 200kg or 500kg organic waste converter as it costs only Rs7.5 lakh. It will help collect segregated organic waste from house and recycle it in the converter making manure or generating power,” said an SMC officer. In Surat, for housing societies smaller than 500 square metre, SMC provides this facility and for which are bigger than 500 square metre but smaller than 20,000 square metre in area, the cost of buying an organic waste converter needs to be shared by the group and the civic body. It is needless to say, the builders of housing societies bigger than 20,000 square metre would have spend the money on the installation of organic waste converters.